Sunday Music - Trinity Sunday

Mellow Christian rock from Michael W. Smith. Enjoy.

Sunday Music - Come Holy Ghost

Not the traditional arrangement, and yes - this is a repeat if you stop by here most Sundays for the musical selection.

Follow this link, hear the lovely music, and learn about the loving community that created it. You'll be glad you did!

Need more enticement? From where I'm sending ya: "...Hope that something new is beginning that has very old roots. Hope that God is growing life out of our devastation, trust out of our cynicism, love out of our fear, community out of our isolation.... And that's what this album is about - fumbling into God's grace. It is a seismic and humble shift when our heart can hear the words that God has been saying to us for all our lives, '...nothing can separate you from the Love of God which is in Christ Jesus'. These songs say 'Yes' to God's claim upon your life that, 'You are my Beloved.'"

The Rise and Fall of The Episcopal Diocese of San Joaquin

In December of 2007 a large part of the Episcopal Diocese of San Joaquin did the unthinkable.  Having spent almost 20 years preparing for a bone-chilling move the then Bishop of San Joaquin, John David Mercer Schofield and about 70 other clergy grabbed as much property and people as they could and headed south, to the province of the Southern Cone.  This made news and horrified everyone, especially the Presiding Bishop of Episcopal Church in the United States and most if not all of the national leaders.  Much like today, no one thought that could possibly happen, but it did.

From December 2007 until March of 2008 several parishes, most notably St. Anne's in Stockton, St. John's in Lodi, Church of the Savior in Hanford, Holy Family in Fresno and Christ the King in Riverbank (along with "faith communities throughout the Valley) were left "hanging".  To quote a Roger Miller song "no phone, no pool, no pets". TEC from December, January and some of February was frozen into a state of immobility.  During this time, in large part due to Remain Episcopal, those left in the Episcopal Diocese continued to be strong in their Episcopal Presence and in the presence of nothing less than a withering attack by people like John David Schofield,  Bill Gandenberger and Van McAlister.  John David had conditioned the newspapers in the valley to assume that the bad guys were those left behind, not those who absconded with the property. 

In March, much to everyone's surprise (except those in the Episcopal Diocese of San Joaquin) the diocese of San Joaquin was rediscovered by the national church and an interim Bishop was appointed/elected.  While the presiding bishop and several national figures including Bonnie Anderson have visited and become aware of the strong faith-filled Episcopalians still here, little if anything has been done to reinvigorate the diocese. 

The real focus of the diocese has been twofold: 1, recover the stolen property and 2, depose/get rid of those clergy that no longer want to be part of the Episcopal presence.  The one clear exception to that basic mode of operation has been Father Terry Martin and his Red Tent "ministry".

Interestingly enough, remember when the Presiding Bishop appointed someone to do something for the diocese to help them restore things?  Wonder what happened to that?

We are now to a point where the glaring error of our ways is upon us.  Not a dime has been spent on reconstituting the Diocese of San Joaquin and it shows!  The first parish, St. Paul's is (at least in property) due back to the diocese on July 1, 2009.  We as a diocese, that is, parish by parish have an incredible problem.  No one has figured out what to do with these returning parishes.  It is entirely likely that by the end of the summer those Incorporated parishes that left to the So. Cone will be back and by the end of the year those parishes that were "corporate sole" parishes will be back and no one has figured out what to do.  In fact no one is even working on a realistic plan to reconstitute the diocese.  We are "playing everything by ear".  What does this mean?  Specifically Christ the King has struggled to maintain an Episcopal presence here in the community.  St. Paul's will return and St. Paul's is a stones throw from Christ the King.  One other incorporated parish, St. Matthias, also a stone's throw from St. Paul's and Christ the King will return later this year.  There is no way, at this time, that two parishes could really survive let alone all three.  [There is a little more history to this but I will leave that to your  missionary imaginations].  So, what happens, other than the first celebration service back nothing has been planned.  Oh, but get this, the Bishop has asked several members of Christ the King who have some ties to St. Paul's to go back and be vestry members, the organist and generally repopulate St. Paul's.  For you numbers folks, Christ the King ASA is about 95.  Get the picture yet?  Just what do you suppose is going on?  Is this the plan?  Holy crap on a cracker!  For those of you who are still in a quandary, we are rewarding Christ the King for remaining Episcopal by killing it.

This is not just rewarding the prodigal son with a feast.  It is giving the balance of the inheritance to him again.  He squandered it the first time so let's see if he does better this time?  What the heck is that?!

And, is this a unique set of circumstances?  No, there is a similar situation in Fresno and in Bakersfield.  In essence, we have poured our heart and soul into getting our property back and now that it is coming back we have done -  EXACTLY NOTHING!  We have not put one dime into reconstructing the diocese. I guess everybody thought, "we'll take care of it later."  Later is here.

Here is at least one idea.  There is a really good corporate type in Fresno (this priest works for the national church already and would be a facilitator not a chairperson) who could lead groups (primarily lay since clergy once again have a stake in parishes that stay open and parishes that close) of deanery appointed ad hoc committees in establishing norms and setting up strategic plans to reconstitute the diocese upon the return of the various parishes.  Yes, it would take some amount of time, precious as that is, and some money (815 are you listening?) and once the plans were set and approved by the deaneries the plans could come to the convention for "ratification".  Until such time as these plans re completed those parishes that return must stay closed. Sorry, the price one pays for stupidity.  Once the plans are in place then the deaneries would implement those plans as parishes return to the Episcopal Church.  This plan is relatively cheap, it is locally based and it is locally executed and yet can become a role model for the other diocese that will eventually have to face the same issues. Let it be known that without some form of a plan that recognizes and deals with the various issues within the current Episcopal diocese of San Joaquin within a few short years, maybe as little as 18 months we will no longer exist.

I leave you all with this thought: "Does anybody really know what time it is? Does anybody care?"

A Nugget Embedded in the Merchant of Venice

" Mark you this Bassanio The devil can cite Scripture for his purpose An evil soul producing holy witness is like a villain with a smiling cheek A goodly apple rotten at the heart O what a goodly outside falsehood"

The silly scintillating response of one of Mr. Schofield's henchmen to the recent deposition of the 61 clergy in Diocese of San Joaquin.

This came from a recent post by Mr. Van McAlister:

It might be helpful to look at the terms of "Abandonment" according to the canons of The Episcopal Church: The canons define abandonment as an "open renunciation of the Doctrine, Discipline, or Worship of this Church, or by a formal admission into any religious body not in communion with this Church . . ." [Cn IV.10.1]. We are guilty of none of those. We have not openly renunciated the doctrine, discipline and worship of the Church. To the contrary: we stated that we must hold fast to the doctrine, discipline and worship of the Church. And, we have made public the fact that TEC has "openly renunciated the Doctrine, Discipline and Worship of this Church" and has stubbornly refused to follow her own canons and has rejected discipline from others in the Anglican Communion. We were admitted into a province that is in communion with TEC and the Anglican Communion. For the past four decades, the leadership of TEC has turned a blind eye to bishops and priests who have taught false doctrine and ignored the canons of the Church, and now they are disciplining clergy who have faithfully followed the doctrine and canons of the Church. Correspondingly, TEC and Bp Lamb have not followed their canons properly in this process, either.

Well, I don't know about you guys but I am convinced.

Off-Topic: The State Of California

I pretty much grew up in this state. My grandmother was one of the founding Quakers of a "quaint little village" about 13 miles east of Los Angeles. I have seen the beauty of California and it is vast! From surfing the beaches of So. California to the tallest redwoods in Big Sur to the deserts of the Mojave to the immense beauty of the Northern Coast. The historical Highway 49 and the several capitals including Benicia, Monterrey and Sacramento. The huge valleys where most of the world's food is grown and where on any given day, without the Delta breezes one swelters under a hot summer sun. From San Diego and the harbor to San Francisco and its Barbary Coast. No state can compare with our history and our beauty and our stupid politics.

Yep, this is about the "late great disagreement" currently being felt in the once golden state. We held an election last Tuesday, May 19, 2009 and nobody came. We went from the largest turnout in state history to six people crowding into a single voting booth and the result was a disaster.

Atop the Internal Revenue Service Building in Washington, D.C. is the following Oliver Wendell Holmes (the crazy commie) quote, "Taxes is the price we pay for living in a civilized society."

And couple with that the following "working" definition of politics. "politics is the art of compromise."

Now, our state representatives in general,and approximately, are paid $117,000.00 per annum and are provided a daily living allowance of $173.00 per diem. They are also provided a car and all the gasoline they need. In addition, if they work on a committee or the like they are entitled to and a staff of 8 that the state pays for.

One would think, almost believe, that when one works year-round (another quirk of our representatives) one could pass a lousy stinking budget! But, California, has in its imminent wisdom, passed proposition 13 which among the worst provisions in this crazy document required a two-thirds vote on all legislation touching on, you guessed it, taxes. As a result of this we have passed propositions to fund schools, roads, transportation, health care, social services, just about everything one can think of has a special proposition attached to it that makes it "untouchable" and provides for the common good in such a way that the revenue cannot be touched. For all intents and purposes the people of California, when feed up, will not repeal prop 13 but will "specially fund" someones favorite program. As a further result we borrow, we account in strange ways that only a state can do, and we steal from those few programs that are not protected. We (generally the governor) make unholy deals with just about anyone, prison guards, teachers, police officers, nurses, social workers and then the republicans blame the fiscal crisis on these hard working people who just want to earn a living wage. And, all along, they fail to compromise and create a true working budget.

Yes, the state of California has been a democratically controlled state for all of my life and since a little after Hiram Walker put into play his major changes back around the 1915s. Republicans have complained about Jesse Unruh and Willie Brown and everyone else who has held the position of Speaker of the House. The Republicans have tried without success to redistrict the state in a fairer way -- read that "gerrymander to the Republican advantage".

Because of these inept Republicans, and the 2/3 majority requirement the State of California has seen its public schools slip from #1 in the nation to #47. Our once flourishing University system is now as expensive as any private school in or out of California. Our roads are in such bad shape that one risks one's life every time one drives anywhere in this state. We here in California fail miserably in taking care of public safety, public health (physical and mental) and educating our pre-schoolers.

The vote last Tuesday was NOT, in my mind, a rejection of "new taxes" as the deaf and dumb Republicans would have us believe, it is a rejection of their inability to create a working budget. All those who do not believe that a $21 billion deficit is not going to create new taxes please raise your hand. All those who think that we can truly and earnestly continue to run this state by cutting and gutting every social program please raise your hand. All those who think that by cutting those frivolous administrators salaries we can get through this debacle please raise your hand. Good, the 64 Republicans from Orange County can now put your hands down.

Can we please get serious? How about you lawmakers go to work and fix the budget yourselves. How about you strike a compromise that works for everybody. Republicans, if you hold Prop 13 so near and dear to your hearts that you are unwilling to give that up it is incumbent upon you to make the "deal". You MUST work and compromise. You may not hold this state hostage. We all recognize new taxes when we see them, and we all want California to resume its once proud place in the galaxy of stars. I do not know about anyone else but I am tired of being ranked 47th, 50th, 46th, 40th and any other rank below #1 when it comes to just about anything. Think about it -- let's start a run on who can be first in health care and clean air standards and education and roads and parks and everything else. It takes creativity and it takes some time, but shoot folks, you only have all year! What say you go back to work and stop bellyachin' about Prop 13 and all the tied up hands and create some legislation that we all can be proud of. Some of you going to lose you place in the Senate or Assembly? Maybe but how about we start thinking long term now and a little less short term. Republicans, you are NEVER going to be the majority party in this state in the near future and if you keep acting like the way you have been maybe never! Talk about face reality, sheesh. Most of those interlopers who moved here in the last 50 or so years did so because of the greatness of California and that greatness has always come at a price. Stop "screwing" with my state and get on with the work each and everyone of you is supposed to be doing.

That is it. Stick a fork in me. I am done.

A Song for the Ages (Sorry, Harry Chapin)

Harry Chapin, folk/rock singer is a very special songwriter. I just happen to have copies of most of the things he wrote including Cotton Patch Gospels. (I highly recommend it). Well, here is Harry's anthem to hurried and confounded family life. It has a slight twist from what you all may remember.

Archbishop arrived just the other day
He came to San Joaquin in the usual way
But there were planes to catch and bills to pay
He learned to talk while he was away
And he was talkin' 'fore I knew it, and as he grew
He'd say "I'm gonna be like you John David
You know I'm gonna be like you"

And the cat's in the cradle and the silver spoon
Little Baby Blue and Matt K on the moon
When you comin' home Archbishop?
I don't know when, but we'll get together then John David
You know we'll have a good time then

The lawsuit turned one just the other day
John David said, "Thanks for the letter, Greg, come on let's pray
Can you teach me to pray", He said "Not today
I got a lot to do", John said, "That's ok"
And he walked away but his smile never dimmed
And John said, "I'm gonna be like him, yeah
You know I'm gonna be like him"

And the cat's in the cradle and the silver spoon
Little Baby Blue and Matt K on the moon
When you comin' home Archbishop?
I don't know when, but we'll get together then John David
You know we'll have a good time then


Well, Greg came home from GAFCON just the other day
So much like a man I just had to say
"Greg, I'm proud of you, can you sit for a while?"
He shook his head and said with a smile
"What I'd really like, John David, is to borrow the church keys
See you later, can I have them please?"

And the cat's in the cradle and the silver spoon
Little Baby Blue and Matt K on the moon
When you comin' home Archbishop?
I don't know when, but we'll get together then John David
You know we'll have a good time then

I've long since retired, my Greggie's moved away
I called him up just the other day
I said, "I'd like to see you if you don't mind"
He said, "I'd love to, John, if I can find the time
You see my ACNA's a hassle and Primates have the flu
But it's sure nice talking to you, John David
It's been sure nice talking to you"

And as I hung up the phone it occurred to me
Greg grew up just like me
My Archbishop was just like me

And the cat's in the cradle and the silver spoon
Little Baby Blue and Matt K on the moon
When you comin' home Archbishop?
I don't know when, but we'll get together then John David
You know we'll have a good time then

Sunday Music - A Better World

A sentimental standby with an all-star cast: We are the World